Private Ear: Stairway to heaven?

By John Groom

February 2007

Sennheiser HD 595, $495. HD 555, $249. HD 465, $159.

Sennheisser HD 595

Sennheisser HD 555

Sennheisser HD 465

I sometimes suspect that I got the job of writing the Private Ear column simply because I own a $1000 pair of Sennheiser 650s. I didn’t do it on purpose – it sort of crept up on me, honest. All I did was go to Shore Hi-Fi to try out headphones for the Pioneer CD player that I had picked up through Trade Me. Those guys were so helpful; they gently led me through the whole Sennheiser range. I mean, once I had tried something around $200 because it had “clear bass”, they then said that if I wanted something that was more “open” I could spend a few hundred dollars.

Well I was impressed with the next couple of examples and it might have all finished there if young Alex hadn’t appealed to my vanity. He furtively indicated that they had a special product that was used by reviewers and studios all over the world but was probably more than I was prepared to spend. To add a little drama he disappeared into a back room and reached reverentially to a dusty top shelf.

That was how I met the 650s, and as they say… it was love at first hearing. Plugged into some pretty decent Naim gear, the digital glaze disappeared. I breathed out for the first time that morning, and my mind floated back 20 years to when I heard the old Quads driven by a 50 watts Plinius with an Oracle turntable on the front end. Well the credit card slipped out of my pocket faster than you can say “My Precious”. The rest, as they say is history.

Sing for your supper

Given my history it was a no-brainer when the editor asked if I was interested in doing a column on the Sennheiser range and specifically the question of bang for your buck or in more objective terms “how close to the 650 sound can you be with some of the cheaper items?” For this exercise we have for comparison purposes the HD 595 retailing at $449, the HD 555 retailing at $249 and the HD 465 retailing at $159. What all of this range have in common is that they are all surprisingly light and comfortable, have a great dynamic range and are beautifully built and packaged. The headphones are also readily available.

The comparisons were all done with the aforementioned (modified) Pioneer stable platter CD player. No headphone amplifier was used as these are unlikely to be present in systems involving the lower priced equipment, and will also be dealt with separately in future columns. Two recordings were used for comparison purposes. Amos Lee, on his beautiful self titled album with Blue Note, and Daniel Barenboim doing his magic with the English Chamber Orchestra and their rendition of Mozart’s 20th and 27th Piano Concertos (EMI).

HD 595: A giant slayer?

Well, I will put you straight out of your misery. If money is the issue but you can afford $449 then go and buy these. They capture an amazing amount of the sound quality of the flagship product. They are particularly good at keeping the elusive “musical” and emotional quality to the music. Amos Lee’s Arms of a Woman is a track that chokes me up, on either product, and both had my foot tapping and my head nodding with his version of Dreaming.

What you don’t get is the ultimate smoothness of Barenboim’s piano as there is a slight glaze and some of the dynamic extremes are not as well resolved. Within a couple of minutes this difference disappears however as you get lost in the music and several times while writing this review I forgot which of these headphones I was wearing. The 650s are slightly more comfortable during extended listening, are more “analogue” in sound and can, for the more fanatical, be used with esoteric cables. The 595s will appeal to those who value a dynamic sound with plenty of detail.

HD 555: Don’t be shy now

Several times I had to check that I had the right headphones on, as the $249 products are surprisingly open, spacious and gentle. They resolve complex material well and on simple material bring the midrange clearly to the fore, though with the demands of an orchestra, some of the sense of cohesion and presence is lost. One is more conscious of listening to a recording rather than the illusion of “being there”. Again however this is slight, and mostly apparent on comparison with the flagship as awareness of the phenomenon fades over the first few minutes. This is an easier sound and for those who want a slight warmth at the cost of the ultimate detail and emotion.

HD 465: Last but not least

Following more closely to the 555 in its sonic signature, this 465 gives a warm open sound that seems designed for easy listening. It is a good all rounder for those on a budget but it is still considerably fuller and more dynamic than the compact Sennheiser PX 100 ($100) that I use at the gym. While you cannot expect the resolving power of the 650 this is still a worthy member of the Sennheiser stable and some people may prefer its forgiving nature.

The last word

There are two well-worn clichés in the hi-fi reviewing business. The first is that “you get what you pay for” and the other is that some products “punch above their weight”. In some strange way, these clichés are both true of the Sennheiser range. By having high quality production techniques based in China, Sennheiser have managed to maintain optimum performance at each price point in a way that remains surprisingly true to its flagship.

John is an executive coach and mentor who lives on the North Shore of Auckland